E3 2006: Dirty Harry First Look

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Walk the line between bad cop and even worse cop.

By Hilary Goldstein

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is stepping into the gaming arena. While the young developer/publisher has previously worked on games, including EA's Batman Begins, the company is ready to build itself into a major force. A main piece of that strategy was revealed Wednesday at E3. Dirty Harry is coming to next-gen consoles in 2007. Coinciding with the game release is a re-mastered five-disc DVD Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry set.

Dirty Harry takes place between the first and second films. Set in 1970's San Francisco, the game features the voice talents of Clint Eastwood, Lawrence Fishburne and Gene Hackman. Along with lending his voice and likeness to Dirty Harry, Eastwood is also acting as creative consultant. The role is minimal, but WBIE has regular meetings with Eastwood to get his input on story and design.

Eastwood stated that he was often asked when he would make another Harry movie. As the actor/director joked, he could imagine scenes where Harry was retired, fly fishing with a .44 Magnum. With videogames, Harry Callahan can live again, with Clint magically restored to his '40s.

The trailer is neither CG cut-scene nor actual gameplay. Instead, WBIE gave their models and engine schematics to an animation house, which produces the trailer. It's a simulation of the gameplay, which is promised to equal the game quality already seen in house. The level of detail was impressive. The hills of San Francisco have never looked better and the '70s vibe was in full effect. Dirty Harry's face is a spitting image of the movie version. Most impressive was how perfect developer The Collective captured Eastwood's steely gaze.

The highlight was when Harry shoved a crook's head in a vice and was squeezin' it, a la an interrogation scene from The Punisher. "The head in the vice gag," Eastwood quipped, "I never thought of that one before."

The trailer, which offered no true sense of the actual gameplay, ended with the classic scene from Sudden Impact. The "Do you feel lucky punk" line was pulled straight from the film as Eastwood has not yet recorded voice over for the game.

WBIE was reluctant to release details on the gameplay or the plot, but offered a few hints. The story, while not a 100% connective thread from the first to second Harry flick, will "explore the character more." While it was never confirmed, it sounded like Harry would offer a free-roaming San Francisco. "The city of San Francisco can be a character," WBIE VP Jason Hall said. "It can live."

One key aspect of gameplay was discussed in slight detail. As in the films, Harry walks the line between bad cop and psychopath. Players will also walk that line. The game features reactive AI, both for crooks and cops. While there was no further explanation, it appears that if you are soft on crooks, they may not take Harry seriously. On the other end, going to nuts will put you in trouble with the police chief.

Dirty Harry won't arrive until the first half of 2007. We'll have more later this year.